The use of blow-molded parts for assembling various sorts of articles is generally well known.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,557,191 to Bellows (“Bellows”) discloses a bed frame including a headboard, a foot board, a right side rail, and a left side rail. Each side rail has a first member and a corresponding second member. Each of the first and second members can be releasably attached to the headboard and the footboard respectively solely by mating end joint members formed in the first and second members and in the headboard and the foot board. Also, each of the first and second members can be releasably attached to each other solely by mating side joint members formed in the first and second members. The end and side joint members are mated through dovetail joints, pin-in-socket joints, or combinations thereof. The bed frame components can be blow-molded. However, Bellows does not provide multiple mechanisms for ensuring mutual incompatibility between joints having otherwise identical structures.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,780 to Lipniarski (“Lipniarski I”) discloses a blow-molded braced stool having a seat, legs and a brace having an insertion side and an exit side. The brace has openings for receiving the legs. The seat has indented female connectors on a leg side of the seat. The legs are formed with male connectors. During the assembly, the male connectors on the legs are moved through the openings in the brace and into the female connectors in the seat. Lipniarski I also discloses that different blow-molded structures, such as a table, a bar, a book shelf or a storage surface, can be made using the same female-male connectors. However, Lipniarski I does not provide multiple mechanisms for ensuring mutual incompatibility between joints having otherwise identical structures.
U.S. Patent Appl. No. 2010/0044152 to Lipniarski (“Lipniarski II”) discloses a blow-molded ladder assembly including a plurality of molded plastic parts which can be assembled by interfitting connections. The interfitting connections comprise a male interconnection that securely fits inside a female opening. However, Lipniarski II does not provide multiple mechanisms for ensuring mutual incompatibility between joints having otherwise identical structures.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,066,553 to Maloney (“Maloney”) discloses a slat furniture structure having a pair of laterally spaced apart supports and slats disposed between the supports. The slats are connected to the supports by a snap fitting connection consisting of resilient U-shaped fingers that fit into recesses in the supports. However, Maloney does not provide any mechanism for ensuring that a particular part can only be connected to a particular counterpart, and does not provide multiple mechanisms for ensuring mutual incompatibility between joints having otherwise identical structures. Further, Maloney includes delicate barb structures.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,938,558 to Peres (“Peres”) discloses a two-part blow molded pallet including slats that lock onto support stringers by a sliding, dovetail arrangement. The slats are formed by blow molding and have a plurality of dovetail slots to attach to stringers. However, Peres does not provide any mechanism for ensuring that a particular part can only be connected to a particular counterpart, and does not provide multiple mechanisms for ensuring mutual incompatibility between joints having otherwise identical structures. In addition, there is no structure to ease the abrupt change in pressure caused by the wedging action of the locking barbs during assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,167 to Sadr (“Sadr”) discloses a plastic pallet with stringers and deck boards made of a thin-walled hollow construction by blow molding or continuous extrusion. The stringers and deck boards can be connected together by interaction between locking barbs and slots and wedge configurations molded into the stringer and deck boards. However, Sadr does not provide any mechanism for ensuring that a particular part can only be connected to a particular counterpart, and does not provide multiple mechanisms for ensuring mutual incompatibility between joints having otherwise identical structures. Further, Sadr depends on the opposing force of other components to maintain the connection between two blow molded parts. In addition, there is no structure to ease the abrupt change in pressure caused by the wedging action of the locking barbs during assembly.
The cited prior art references generally disclose blow-molded assemblies that are connected by various interfitting male-female connectors. However, the references do not disclose a system and method for assembling blow molded parts that provides multiple mechanisms for ensuring mutual incompatibility between joints having otherwise identical structures. In particular, the references do not disclose a system and method which utilizes varied positioning for the slide-locks on female parts and corresponding male parts with different lock barb positions or a stop feature that prevents engagement with any female other than the mate to facilitate error-free assembly of multiple fasteners.
What is desired therefore is a system and method for connecting blow molded parts without the use of separate fasteners that addresses these deficiencies.